6.5-300 Wby performance in Africa?

[piratensafaris]

I have been researching the capability of 6.5-300 wby's, specifically on Africa's tougher game. I am lucky to have one topped with a Z3 4-12 BT and I use 156 grain Berger EH. The gun is absolute tack driver, precise as the shooter can be. I as wondering if anybody has any experience with 6.5's in Africa, especially the 6.5-300 wbys.

 

[318AE]

I think there is a lot of respect for 6.5s in Africa, but mostly due to high sectional density bullets, not high velocity cartridges.

 

[flatwater bill]

Used .264 Win Mag in Namibia with good results. Have shot 6.5-300 Wby but only load devel and targets............best of luck with your cartridge and load................FWB

 

[375Fox]

My Dad is a big fan of the cartridge for mountain hunts and I think that’s where it belongs unfortunately not most places in Africa. The 6.5 weatherby is an extremely fast flat shooting cartridge. Most shots in Africa will be under 200 yards and many under 100 yards possibly with some brush between you and the animal depending where you hunt. A slower heavier bullet does better than a super fast bullet. Also, a major difference between North American game and African game is the shot placement. North American game is behind the shoulder. African game has vitals further forward making shot placement directly on the shoulder. At 6.5 weatherby speeds at 100 yards you’ll want a well constructed bonded bullet or Barnes bullet to get penetration through the shoulder. A Berger bullet isn’t ideal. I read you have a hunt planned. Where to? A 6.5 weatherby could better suited to some places more than others, like the Karoo.

 

[spike.t]

I see some explosive impacts ahead..........

 

[piratensafaris]

My Dad is a big fan of the cartridge for mountain hunts and I think that’s where it belongs unfortunately not most places in Africa. The 6.5 weatherby is an extremely fast flat shooting cartridge. Most shots in Africa will be under 200 yards and many under 100 yards possibly with some brush between you and the animal depending where you hunt. A slower heavier bullet does better than a super fast bullet. Also, a major difference between North American game and African game is the shot placement. North American game is behind the shoulder. African game has vitals further forward making shot placement directly on the shoulder. At 6.5 weatherby speeds at 100 yards you’ll want a well constructed bonded bullet or Barnes bullet to get penetration through the shoulder. A Berger bullet isn’t ideal. I read you have a hunt planned. Where to? A 6.5 weatherby could better suited to some places more than others, like the Karoo.

The hunt is scheduled in the Thabazimbi area, so I do not think long shots will often be taken. I may use this as an opportunity to buy a larger caliber. Has anybody had experience with 338 rpm? I would acquire a 300wby, but my dad's pride and joy is a 300wby and that would bring redundancy.

 

[Velo Dog]

Hi again piratensafaris,

Get yourself a .30-06 and shoot 180 grain or heavier bullets.
It is not very exotic but regarding it’s performance on 99% of the world’s hoofed animals, you will be very happy with same.
Personally, I like 220 grain round nose soft points in the .30-06.
But again, most bullets from 180 gr upwards, tend to work quite well in this cartridge for Africa, yes quite.

If however you cannot abide the excellent but boring old .30-06 and simply must have something a bit off the beaten path, take a look at both the .338-06 and the .35 Whelen.
Both of those are wonderful African cartridges, when loaded with bullets beginning around 225 gr, up through 250 gr (or even heavier if you hand load).
A couple more wonderful Africa worthy hunting cartridges are the 8x57 Mauser, with 196 gr bullets and the 9.3x62 Mauser, with 250 - 286 gr bullets.

Screeching ultra high velocity in Africa is generally not the best performer as, just like 375Fox has already mentioned, most (most) African game is taken at relatively short range and often foliage is present, between the hunter and the critter.
That said, indeed if you insist on bringing an ultra fast caliber to Africa, I recommend you load it with and ultra tough bullet, such as the Swift A-Frame.

Parting Shot as it were:
Since you are planning to include hunting in Africa as part of your life, sooner or later you will want a .375 caliber rifle.
May as well start looking now, so that you can have a great understanding of what the various makers have to offer, and what they should cost, well before you run across one for sale.

Cheers,
Velo Dog.

 

[Philip Glass]

I have been researching the capability of 6.5-300 wby's, specifically on Africa's tougher game. I am lucky to have one topped with a Z3 4-12 BT and I use 156 grain Berger EH. The gun is absolute tack driver, precise as the shooter can be. I as wondering if anybody has any experience with 6.5's in Africa, especially the 6.5-300 wbys.

We shot my wife's 6.5 PRC (similar to your cartridge) last year with decent results. My problem is that I still think it is a bit light for the bigger game and the 143g ELDX absolutely destroyed some of our Springbucks. I have the bad mounts to prove it! Too small of a bullet and too much velocity.
Please do not use Berger bullets for Hunting Africa. They are simply not a hunting bullet.
With my .300Win shooting 180g Barnes (as with most Barnes) I can take down the big stuff and not ruin the little stuff.

 

[gillettehunter]

Several of us have used Berger's with exceptional results in Africa. In fact I started a thread about them a few yrs ago. For me it's been the 180 at 2900 fps in a 7 SAUM. For your rifle the 156 is the right berger. I'd still look to keep it at 3000 fps or less. Too fast and there might be some lower penetration. If you look carefully enough there has been at least 2 reports with people using the 156's in Africa over the last year. Perhaps someone will repost about it.
Wouldn't be my first choice caliber for a kudu or a sable, but for a reedbuck or a impala it would be awesome. I'd base my caliber choice on the biggest animal that I want to hunt. Then take it from there.
Use enough gun is a great slogan. Remember if you draw blood you pay the trophy fee. I've killed perhaps 60-80 animals with Bergers, mostly in 8 trips to Africa. They work just fine, but there are several important guidelines to follow:
1) use heavy for caliber bullets. That's the 156 in the 6.5's.
2)Don't run them too fast. I feel that 3000 fps is plenty.
3) ALWAYS clean the tips to make sure they are not plugged. Can act like a solid if they have a plugged tip. I have seen as many as over 10% plugged in some boxes.
Best of luck to you.
Bruce

 

[lawrence_court]

You have a nice flat shooting 6.5. Thambazimbi area is going to be almost all shooting within 200 yds or less. Not sure there's much benefit going up to a .30 cal just to shoot a similar weight bullet a bit slower. If you're going to buy another rifle, you might as well go up to .375. Then you'll have the 6.5 for longer stuff and the. 375 for the big short stuff. The .375 will serve you extremely well in the bushveld -- kills everything and doesn't deflect much on vegetation.

 

[randallhebert]

Hi again piratensafaris,

Get yourself a .30-06 and shoot 180 grain or heavier bullets.
It is not very exotic but regarding it’s performance on 99% of the world’s hoofed animals, you will be very happy with same.
Personally, I like 220 grain round nose soft points in the .30-06.
But again, most bullets from 180 gr upwards, tend to work quite well in this cartridge for Africa, yes quite.

If however you cannot abide the excellent but boring old .30-06 and simply must have something a bit off the beaten path, take a look at both the .338-06 and the .35 Whelen.
Both of those are wonderful African cartridges, when loaded with bullets beginning around 225 gr, up through 250 gr (or even heavier if you hand load).
A couple more wonderful Africa worthy hunting cartridges are the 8x57 Mauser, with 196 gr bullets and the 9.3x62 Mauser, with 250 - 286 gr bullets.

Screeching ultra high velocity in Africa is generally not the best performer as, just like 375Fox has already mentioned, most (most) African game is taken at relatively short range and often foliage is present, between the hunter and the critter.
That said, indeed if you insist on bringing an ultra fast caliber to Africa, I recommend you load it with and ultra tough bullet, such as the Swift A-Frame.

Parting Shot as it were:
Since you are planning to include hunting in Africa as part of your life, sooner or later you will want a .375 caliber rifle.
May as well start looking now, so that you can have a great understanding of what the various makers have to offer, and what they should cost, well before you run across one for sale.

Cheers,
Velo Dog.

My wife and I used a 30-06 with the 165 barnes tsx in August and September to take 2 zebra, 2 ostrich, 2 springbok, eland, gemsboc and a giraffe with a front shoulder shot with no problem.

 

[dchum]

Shoot a copper bullet and you will be happy.
Your shots will be shorter than what that set up is intended for. That Berger might run into some issue. Could work! But try some Barnes bullets

 

[dchum]

The hunt is scheduled in the Thabazimbi area, so I do not think long shots will often be taken. I may use this as an opportunity to buy a larger caliber. Has anybody had experience with 338 rpm? I would acquire a 300wby, but my dad's pride and joy is a 300wby and that would bring redundancy.

Is weatherby paying you??? Lol

 

[IvW]

Under caliber, over speed, non premium bullet= not good for Africa......

 

[Hififile324]

The 6.5-300 WBY is definitely a hot number! But I can't recommend it for African Plains game. Why??
#1 - If your ammo doesn't make it off the plane or is lost, you probably wont find ammo in RSA gun stores.

#2 - I just returned from RSA in July. I used a .30-06 with 200gr. bullets. 7 animals, 7 shots, out to 386 yards.

#3 - My hunting buddy borrowed his PH's 6.5 PRC (similar to WBY), hit a Waterbuck and watched it run off and lost it. (and paid for it)!

#4 - Shoot the biggest bullet "YOU" can shoot accurately and comfortably. And one That has good ammo availability in Africa. (.308, .30-06, .270, .300 WM, .375 H&H)

#5 - Ultra-high velocity has its place and time. But in the grand scheme for Africa hunting the differences are quite small.

Finally, I have several Weatherby's that have taken big game here in the USA. If you like the rifles and ammo and shoot them well, use them, and enjoy them. But give careful thought before you shell out big bucks on a Safari using a new to market caliber.

 

[Hogpatrol]

I have been researching the capability of 6.5-300 wby's, specifically on Africa's tougher game. I am lucky to have one topped with a Z3 4-12 BT and I use 156 grain Berger EH. The gun is absolute tack driver, precise as the shooter can be. I as wondering if anybody has any experience with 6.5's in Africa, especially the 6.5-300 wbys.

All good options offered in previous posts. My 2¢, Having used nothing but Bergers in nine PG hunts, If you can shoot it off of sticks with pinpoint accuracy, use it and the heavy ones. The zebra in my avatar fell to a 6.5-284 shooting a Berger 130 grain VLD hunting bullet at a skosh under 300 yards, one shot, walked a few steps and fell dead. IIRC, velocity was in the 2900 range.

 

[Velo Dog]

My wife and I used a 30-06 with the 165 barnes tsx in August and September to take 2 zebra, 2 ostrich, 2 springbok, eland, gemsboc and a giraffe with a front shoulder shot with no problem.

Greetings randallherbert,

Having experienced my own occasional disappointments, plus having witnessed other hunter’s occasional disappointments, with the now-and-then erratic behavior from various calibers and brands of hollow pointed bullets (rifle and handgun alike), I do not use them myself or recommend them to others.

That said, when deciding to use the present day Barnes monolithic expanding line of bullets, you are right in not choosing their heaviest weights in this instance, as their metal composition is noticeably harder than lead.
Therefore in this specific case, extra velocity is called for to increase your odds of the bullet properly deforming against soft tissue.

In all fairness to the latest version of Barnes expanding bullets, they have gotten better about opening up as preferred, instead of zipping through critters like an ice pick.
Most of the time they work.
Apparently, the higher their velocity is, the more reliable they become.

Again hollow pointed bullets, no matter what brand, (including but not limited to ones with a plastic thingy in the hole or not) are not my thing.
However, my opinion is worth no more than anyone else’s two cents worth and maybe it’s only worth a lot less.

Well anyway, cheers for now.
Velo Dog.

 

[318AE]

There is this ritual in almost every safari destination of “sighting in” your rifle, allegedly to confirm it’s zero, the first afternoon you arrive in camp, before your sundowner. It’s as much about the PH watching how well you shoot, as it is sighting in…. Bring any kind of Weatherby, and I think it’s pretty certain you’ll get more range time and less sundowner time.

I’ve had one PH speak positively about one Weatherby cartridge - the rest have harbored much more skepticism. Ultimately, it’s your safari, take what you’d like etc.

 

[375Fox]

There is this ritual in almost every safari destination of “sighting in” your rifle, allegedly to confirm it’s zero, the first afternoon you arrive in camp, before your sundowner. It’s as much about the PH watching how well you shoot, as it is sighting in…. Bring any kind of Weatherby, and I think it’s pretty certain you’ll get more range time and less sundowner time.

I’ve had one PH speak positively about one Weatherby cartridge - the rest have harbored much more skepticism. Ultimately, it’s your safari, take what you’d like etc.

I think that’s a serious exaggeration. Weatherby cartridges were developed before suitable bullets were developed for their velocity. A weatherby cartridge of suitable caliber combined with a bonded or Barnes bullet will perform well. The skepticism lasts because of the old stories with cup and core bullets. My Dad takes a weatherby rifle in 300 wby on all his trips. The range session is same as any other rifle one or two shots and move on. I do think though if you show up with a tactical or long range appearing rifle that isn’t suited to task and bullets the PH doesn’t trust you can expect more scrutiny.

 

[375Fox]

Ask your PH/Outfitter what he thinks of 6.5 weatherby and 156 gr Bergers. I don’t think it would be their top choice but they’ll give you the advice you need to follow for that area. Africa varies a lot. Where you’ll hunt I’d expect some brush immediately in front of the animal but not overly thick the entire bullet path.

In Zambezi valley every shot for me was like this and less than 100 yards. A 6.5 weatherby at high velocity never would have made the shots and bullet performance would likely just be explosive without penetration. A 375 H&H with 300 grain bonded bullets does the job well.
In Karoo, it was wide open. A 6.5 weatherby with accurate Bergers would be great choice for these shots at longer range and no brush.